The Overwatch League has just announced a complete May schedule. All 20 teams will play in new single-elimination regional tournaments. Two regions are involved: North America (May 22-24) and Asia (May 23-24). Money won't be the only motivation for the teams since playoff tickets are on the line. Enough to boost the Overwatch competitive scene in these difficult times.
General Format
Qualifier matches will be held during the first three weeks of May in both regions — three per team in North America and four in Asia — to qualify for the final stages. These qualification phases will be played with BO5 until the finals, which will be first-to-four maps (BO7).
As in the Overwatch League, the team losing the first map will choose the second. As for the very first map of a match, the top-ranked team will have the privilege of picking it.
It should be noted that the Hero Pool will be suspended for all tournament matches.
Prize Pool
- Tournament champions: $40,000
- Second place teams: $20,000
- Third and fourth place teams: $5,000
- Each tournament win per team: $5,000 (in addition to placement prizing)
The overall season standings will be affected by the qualifier matches, while individual tournament matches won't count. The top-four finishers in each region will earn a fixed number of bonus wins that will have an impact on the standings for playoffs qualification.
- Tournament champions: 3 wins
- Second-place teams: 2 wins
- Third- and fourth-place teams: 1 win
In addition, the 13 teams will now be able to compete against each other on shared servers during the whole month. Weekly Hero Pool and predefined map pool will remain active until Week 14.
Blizzard adds that similar tournaments are likely to happen throughout the regular season. More details about future schedules and the postseason will be released soon.
This week Hero Pool will affect both the Competitive Mode and the Overwatch League differently. While last week's four heroes are back again, McCree, Widowmaker, Wreckingball and Mercy won't be available this week.
